2013 is perhaps the most
competitive year I can remember for rap albums. There’s a ton of quality albums
that I’ve listened to. Here’s the yearly list enjoy.
1.
Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP 2-Eminem, the greatest white rapper
ever(without debate), has dropped another borderline classic album. Yes this is
Eminem’s 2nd best album ever. Its better than all of them except its
predecessor, MMLP One. There is just so much lyricism , and the beats are more
cohesive than the ones on Recovery. Its not perfect, but there’s not much wrong
with it. Its kind of like MBDTF for Eminem. He has combined multiple styles of
his past an incorporated it to this excellent album.
2.
Pusha T: My Name is My Name- Coming in at a close second is Pusha
T. I gotta admit I didn’t think Pusha
could release an album that would surpass Jay-z, Kanye, and J.Cole’s albums;
but he did just that. This album is dope with great rhymes and well used guest
features. I’m not saying it’s a tie for
#1, but this album is in elite company.
3.
Drake: Nothing Was the Same- You know what, after hearing 2011’s
Take Care album, I was convinced Drake would have a short run in rap. This
album proved me wrong. Drizzy keeps it personal, but this album is better than
any album Lil Wayne ever put out. It’s so smooth when it needs to be and hard
when it needs to be. Drake really changes up his vocals to the point where yea I
can see that you might not know that’s him rapping. Its great to hear such
variety in one album.
4.
Killer Mike & El-P(Run the
Jewels):Run the Jewels-Killer Mike and the Producer/Rapper EL-P are 2 of my new favorite rappers. It’s a short album with incredible depth.
There aren’t any songs that miss, but sometimes it can be hard to follow El-P
in particular. However, this is better than the Eminem & Royce Da 5’9 album
Bad Meets Evil easily.
5.
J.Cole: Born Sinner- I anticipated that J.Cole would have
the album of the year back in summer 13’. So that was a little presumptuous. Despite that, this is a great great album. I
like all the songs, and Cole has better production and slightly better lyrics
this time around. From the first song to the last….i was entertained a lot more
than on Cold World back in 2011.
6.
Jay-z : Magna Carta…Holy Grail- I kinda had mixed feelings about this
latest Jigga cd. However after repeated listens it really REALLY grew on me.
Yes its better than Kanye’s effort this year, which is ironic cause in 07,
Graduation was better than American Gangster to me. MCHG is personal, fun,
introspective…you name it. There aren’t a lot of guest spots but its just plain
and simply epic.
7.
Kanye West: Yeezus-You know, this is Kanye’s 6th
solo album(not counting WTT or Cruel Summer) and its further proof to me that
when all is said and done Kanye will be a top 10 rapper all time, and with no
debate. He KNOWS what he’s doing. Yeezus is short but every song is effective.
There’s even some levels of creativity here that rival those on the masterpiece
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. So this album is actually tied with #5 and
#6, but this isn’t a bad spot for Mr West to be in.
8.
Kid Cudi: Indicud- Indicud is Kid Cudi’s uhhh well its
dope. Its not really in the elite company of the top 7 albums but its very well
executed. Its got well used guest spots, and just has a very alternative feel
to it. Even more so than his previous 2 solo albums. Overall I’d say this is no
better than Man on the Moon II . I just don’t think Kid Cudi can make a
borderline classic album again without a
lot of help.
9.
Chance the Rapper: Acid Rap- This album was a nice surprise…oops it’s
a mixtape. Ah who cares. This album is very good. Chance has a lot of
personality on the mic…kind of like a cross between Kanye and Lil Wayne. His
rhymes are very simple but effective. The album doesn’t have any bad spots…but
some songs feel a little too similar.
10.
Goodie Mob: Age Against the Machine- This album was like an unexpected
treat to listen to. Its dope front to back. U would think having Cee-Lo on just
about every track would be bad, but Cee-lo proves he’s still a very good MC and
Singer. Overall this album was very close to getting to the #7 spot….Its an
album with relevant and intelligent songs….sort of like a weird ROOTS album.
11.
Big Sean: Hall of Fame- I didn’t really like Big Sean that
much until I heard him on Cruel Summer compilation album. The album is very
good in most respects. The beats are consistent, as are Sean’s lyrics. The
songs MILF and Mona Lisa are the best songs. It is different than his first
album, which I thought was straight out of 2005 or something. Yes I felt Finally
Famous sounded very dated. Hall of Fame though, gives me the impression, that
Big Sean will be around a while.
12.
Wale: The Gifted-This is Wale’s best album imo, and
its not really up for discussion. His flaws are evident here, but the guest
spots are well used. His 2nd album was borderline boring and seemed
to be trying to please everyone too much. This album however is more well
rounded, and much more entertaining . Its actually tied with #13-15. Theres
just a lot of good songs here to propel it to 9/10.
13.
Tech N9Ne: Something Else- As of 2011 I have been a Techa Neena
fan. This album is good really good. However I just don’t think its as good as
it could have been. Its not that dark at all, except in the beginning. Despite
this, Tech keeps your attention pretty
easily. I felt it was a little bit better than the albums below it. This album
just feels like a true attempt to have commercial success. Tech doesn’t need to
be doing that, but I cant blame him for trying something new.
14.
Ghostface Killah: Twelve Reasons to Die- Despite the disturbing artwork, this
is a really good album…..ranking at about a 9/10. Its like GK’s classic albums
but its different. This is largely due to the beats and how cohesive the
project is. The album is a tad bit short, and some songs don’t stand out that
much.
15.
Talib Kweli: Prisoner of Consciousness-This is an odd album for Kweli. Sure
its better than 2011’s Gutter Rainbows, but its not contruccted that well…especially
after a hot start. The guests don’t seems to vibe with Kweli as well as he
would have hoped. Complaints aside this album is dope….but I can only wonder if
this is his last album.
Honorable Mention(Albums that were good but not in top 15)
Danny Brown, Mac Miller,Tyler the Creator, Big K.R.I.T., A$AP Rocky